Speedy Cheetah — also known as “the cat dog” — wowed an audience Sunday afternoon at the Alameda County Fair. The dog showed intense concentration as she stalked Frisbees, creeping low to the ground like a cat. As soon as she leapt in the air and caught one, she dropped it and eyed the next one.

Speedy Cheetah is a rare dog — a Louisiana Catahoula leopard dog. She is part of the “Rocket’s K-9 Comets” Frisbee dog show. The dogs perform — and compete with one another — daily at the fair.

Rocket and Ashley Hoskins have had a Frisbee dog show for 25 years. Rocket Hoskins was the world Frisbee champion, and he started the original Frisbee dog competition. Now, he and his dogs perform across the country, from fairs to half-time shows at professional sporting events.

During the show, males were pitted against females in Frisbee catching contests.

“They will compete to be today’s top dog,” Rocket Hoskins said to the audience.

He explained that 95 percent of allFrisbee dog contestants are hunting dogs such as Labradors, pointers and retrievers, and herding dogs such as collies. Their genetic make-up makes them ideal for these contests.

The first contest is for speed. Rocket Hoskins threw 20 discs in 60 seconds, and the dogs caught as many as possible.

“It’s very tough. Thirteen to 14 catches is a great round,” he said.

The male contestant, Captain Grizzly, an English pointer, made 18 catches. He was the long-distance world champion in 2003 and 2004.

Then the Catahoula leopard dog, Speedy Cheetah, made 19 catches, winning the day’s contest. Rocket Hoskins said she has won 46 speed Frisbee contests in three years and has been a world champion from 2004 to 2006.

The next contest was the “double-dog challenge.” One disc was thrown, and two dogs went after it. The first dog to make five catches was the winner. A black Labrador, Jenny, beat Australian cattle dog/kelpie, Pikachu.

“They were like one of my cats … that we call Big Kitty,” said a spectator, Martin Grant, 11.

Rocket Hoskins also showed the audience a rare breed, the Wild New Guinea Singing dog, a descendant of the world’s first dog. Its name was Dinki Di, which means genuine or original in Australian slang, Ashley Hoskins said.

The breed is endangered; there are only 137 of the kind left. They are small, light brown in color and slightly resemble dingos. Rocket Hoskins encouraged people to make donations to help increase the population of this dog.

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